The Orion sat down with Chico State student John Barton, who also happens to be the owner of the local clothing line Cozmic Horizon.

Q: Where did Cozmic Horizon come from?

A: Well I really wanted to do this because in all of my entrepreneurship classes we do a lot of projects during the semester where people have a lot of good ideas. But they drop after the year ends. So I wanted something that I could use with school but that was also a real thing. And all of my teachers are different parts of the business so that really helps.

Q: Where did you get inspiration for your designs?

A: We definitely got our inspiration from the Southern California vibe: the urban town ideas of surf and skate. We also really pulled from the name itself. Our horizons are always expanding and the future is limitless for Cozmic Horizon.

Q: And what about the logo?

A: We really went with the “Miami Vice” colors— the whole ’80s thing. I wasn’t too sure about it and then I saw it and really wanted it. Then we came up with the palm tree one so that it wasn’t just our name.

Q: How is your line different from others?

A: What’s different for us is the meaning behind the clothing. We’re just kids trying to make it and we really appeal to other kids who are also trying to make it.

Q: Where can we find your clothes?

A: You can find our clothes right now at cozmichorizon.com. We started last summer—late June, early July—and we’ve only been open for a few months. We’re really trying to get into a lot of skate shops and stores but there haven’t been any offers.

Q: What is your favorite part of the creative process?

A: My favorite part is working with all the different types of people. We have to work with screen printers and other designers. I like working with the people who take our pictures for our Instagram.

Q: What was the hardest part of launching the line?

A: Probably just getting our name out there with the limited marketing budget we had. We utilized a lot of guerrilla marketing tactics because we had such a limited budget. It was both of our savings put together and we just went for it.

Q: What’s next for your business?

A: Right now we’re working on looking for investments. We just did the Elevator Pitch Competition and that went well, but it’s more concept-based. We’re an actual company and a clothing line isn’t always considered groundbreaking, so we’re doing the Accelerator Fund. So we’re putting a Power Point together and getting videos of people who wear and buy our merchandise.

Right now through Dec.18 the purchase of any item from Cozmic Horizon’s website guarantees one entrance for a chance to win a $100 cash prize.

Chelsea Gallegos can be reached at [email protected] or @theorion_news on Twitter.